Duckie Derby raises money for Rotary

Races were held Sunday for area businesses and the general public.

Patty Crall, an employee at Detorre’s Pizza, holds the company’s rubber duck and the trophy for winning first place in the Rubber Duckie Derby at the Monongahela Aquatorium. Ladimir Garcia / Mon Valley Independent

Toy ducks filled the river on Sunday as the Monongahela Rotary Club hosted its sixth annual Rubber Duckie Derby at the Aquatorium.

Dozens of people gathered to watch the rubber ducky races and vote for their favorite entries.

“It’s so fun, we have a lady here doing balloon animals, we have face painting and crafts for kids,” said Jen McNamara, an event organizer and Rotary club member. “So it’s just fun, whether you come in to buy a ticket, or you just come to watch, it’s entertaining,” The Rubber Duckie Derby consisted of two races. The main event was the corporate rubber duck race, where local businesses bought and sponsored ducks.

Each participating business got to personalize its rubber duck. The ducks were dressed in all different ways, with some made into police officers, doctors and hair stylists.

The Detorre’s Pizza duck won the race, and Post Mortem’s zombie duck was selected as the fan favorite.

“It’s wonderful, there were 35 corporate sponsors here. All the businesses in Monongahela helped,” Rotary club member Jim Haines said. “And this goes to help raise money for Rotary scholarships that we give to Ringgold every year.”

McNamara added that the Rotary club also uses the funds for smaller projects such as adopting a family for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The second race consisted of 2,000 smaller rubber ducks, which the Rotary sold tickets for.

Each duck was labeled with a number, and the first one that crossed the finish line carried a $1,000 prize if its number was purchased by someone. If no one bought the number on the first duck, the race continued until there was a winner.

The top three winners in this year’s race are Patty Miller, Kayla Reedy and Jack Trew.